· It is expected that all assignments will be carefully and professionally prepared. Excessive errors in spelling, grammar, and word usage will be penalized.

· Use Times New Roman or Calibri font (12pt).

The Background:

This week we began our discussions of simple research and the process of using research as a means to limit our topic, generate ideas, and become educated upon a topic. This assignment is intended to force you to go through this process in preparation for our most involved essay of the semester – Essay 3. Putting time and effort into doing this assignment properly will directly benefit you when it comes time to write that essay.

Beginning the Process: Choosing a Chapter, Choosing an Article:

As we discussed in class, you will first be choosing a chapter from our text to serve as the broad topic (or starting point if you prefer) in your process of research. You must choose one chapter from the following list of choices:

Chapter 9: Media Studies

Chapter 10: Film & Television

Chapter 16: International Relations

Chapter 22: American Business in the Global Marketplace

Once you have chosen a chapter, you will then choose one of the four articles contained in that chapter to serve as one of the four sources you will use for both the Annotated Bibliography and Essay 3.

Using One Article to Find Three More: Developing Keywords and Conducting a Simple Search

Again, as we discussed in class, by choosing both a chapter and an article in the previous step, you have already begun the process of narrowing your topic. From here, you need to use the article from our textbook a source of information and inspiration moving forward. As you read the article, keep an eye out for important words, phrases, and concepts that seem relevant to the overall topic and pique your interest. Write them down.

Using Galileo and Academic Search Complete:

Once you have a list of a few key words, phrases, or concepts, you are ready to begin some simple research using Academic Search Complete. Academic Search Complete can be found through the Galileo service offered by the CTC Library. Remember that Academic Search Complete is the only approved database for this assignment. You may not use Google or other search engines for this assignment! Additionally, remember to limit your search for Full Text articles found in Academic Journals, Magazines, and Newspapers.

Using the Results of a Simple Search:

Our initial forays into research using Academic Search Complete should not yield any sources – not yet. Rather, we should use our initial searches as a means to learn more about our chosen subject and the kind of things that people are currently researching and writing about this subject. Look at search suggestions offered by Academic Search Complete, subject listings, and bibliographic records as sources for additional search terms and ideas. When you find things that are relevant and interesting, skim through their introductions or casually peruse them for additional ideas and insights. Beyond just looking at what one individual article says, also pay close attention to the questions the writers are asking and problems they are addressing.

Repeating the Process: A Necessary and Helpful Step

Now that you have conducted a simple search using a single search term or phrase, use the insight gained through the process to refine your search terms or to develop new ones. Research like this is best done with only a rough idea of what you are looking for. The more searches you can perform, the better chance you have of finding a topic worth writing about and one in which you might actually have some interest.

From Simple Searches to Targeted Research: Knowing What You Need to Find

Through the process of simple research you should be able to determine the following things:

1. A Narrowly Defined Topic

2. A Pertinent Problem or Issue Relevant to Your Narrowed Topic

3. A Range of Opinions or Positions Pertaining to the Problem or Issue within your topic.

4. Some idea of the Prominent Ideas, People, or Organizations who have a vested interest in your topic and the Problem or Issue you have found within that topic.

When it comes to Targeted Research, numbers 3 and 4 above become your best friends. Opinions and positions within an argument or issue can become precise search terms – as can ideas, people, or organizations. We can look for writings that are produced by or speak about prominent ideas, people, or organizations.

At the end of this process we should be able to develop a list of four sources (1 from the Textbook, 3 from Academic Search Complete) that cover all the bases and provide all of the information that you (or anyone else) will need to enter the conversation on this issue, problem, or topic.

Preparing the Assignment: Bibliographic Records, MLA Format, and OWL

This assignment will require you to prepare two different kinds of writing for each of your four sources – a Bibliographic Record and an Annotation. Bibliographic records are simply a formatted list of information pertaining to a given source (Author, Title, Publication, etc.). We are going to use MLA Format to organize this information and an Online MLA Format guide to show us how to do it.

OWL (Online Writing Lab) is a service provided by Purdue University and it provides a complete MLA style guide that we can utilize for free. Simply go to Google and type in “OWL Purdue MLA” and it will be the first hit you receive.

You will be looking for information pertaining to two types of sources:

· An Article from an Online Database (or Other Electronic Subscription Service)

Found Under: “Works Cited: Electronic Sources” on the Left Side of the Screen

· A Work in an Anthology, Reference, or Collection

Found Under “Works Cited: Books” on the Left Side of the Screen

Preparing the Assignment Annotation: Summary and Relevance

Following each bibliographic record in your bibliography you need to produce a short piece of writing (an annotation) that gives a basic summary of the source and describes its relevance or usefulness to your overall topic. Each should be between 100-150 words in length. Please include a word count following each annotation.